Heavy rain across the Cauvery catchment areas of Kerala and in Karnataka’s Kodagu over the past 48 hours has dramatically eased pressure on Karnataka in its water-sharing standoff with Tamil Nadu, with rising inflows into the Kabini reservoir expected to help the state meet its mandated water release.A visibly relieved chief minister D K Shivakumar, who was in Mysuru to receive PM Narendra Modi Saturday, offered prayers at Chamundeshwari temple before urging pro-Kannada groups to withdraw their protests, including the Aug 13 bandh, against Tamil Nadu’s demand for more Cauvery water.Shivakumar also said his TN counterpart C Vijay Joseph had deferred his proposed visit to Bengaluru at his request. “A date for Vijay’s visit will be fixed once the situation improves,” he added.Heavy rain in neighbouring Wayanad pushed the Kabini reservoir in H D Kote taluk, Mysuru district, close to its full level. Inflows touched nearly 15,500 cusecs by Saturday morning, taking the water level to 2,280 ft against its maximum capacity of 2,284 ft, prompting authorities to issue a flood alert for downstream villages.Water discharge from Kabini increased to 12,000 cusecs at 8pm Saturday, far exceeding Cauvery Water Management Authority’s (CWMA) mandated daily release of 3,500 cusecs.
